Do you think people of previous decades, centuries, etc. were happier than people today?

[raccoon]

I know there's no way of knowing for sure. :shrug:

[datasuspect]

1. they might have been more in tune with nature

in terms of living according to the diurnal cycle (prior to electricity) in agrarian cultures.

it is our alienation from the will of nature that makes us not know who we truly are.

plus, they weren't being bombarded with advertising almost 24-7 from multiple channels.

[TZ]

3. THey were also living about half as long as us

and suffered a lot from nasty diseases- bubonic plague, typhoid, typhus,leprosy, small pox..etc... In other words..this whole nature as eden meme is kind of stupid.

[raccoon]

5. Most didn't live that long, true. And there were a lot more infectious diseases

around in the past. OTOH, go back more than 60 years and people didn't have to worry about nuclear disaster. About 70 years, people didn't have to worry about lack of health insurance.

[TZ]

7. If you are dying of smallpox

you aren't going to be worrying about much other stuff either. Trust me, humanity has it MUCH easier now (in general) that even 100 years ago. If you go to some of the more impoverished parts of the world where infecious disease still thrives I think you will see that.

[raccoon]

10. BTDT. nt

[datasuspect]

12. i know

i was about to pull the trigger, but figured why bother.

[RadiationTherapy]

48. There is something to be said for not working 40 hours in the winter, though.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

44. quality over quantity

and less self doubt.

[dropkickpa]

2. No

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. I don't think so

My ancestors were pretty damn oppressed.

[MorningGlow]

6. Hard to say

Depends on the decade, century, and location, I guess.

One thing's for sure--they weren't chasing the almighty dollar to buy more cheap plastic crap. That alone should decrease the stress levels.

[jeff30997]

19. decade, century, and location

So true.

For example the 60s sounds good but certainly not if you're in Vietnam.I prefer to live

right here right now.

[MorningGlow]

22. Excellent example

Individual experience varies greatly from culture to culture, village to village, person to person. And history is so dodgy that we'll never know exactly how it was for people with any accuracy.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

45. Location, location, location ....

ask any realtor :D

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. gays and most women were not. i am pretty sure of that.

[MorningGlow]

9. Not necessarily, for women at least

I don't know enough about gays in history, but for women check the ancient Celts and other matriarchic societies--women's status was equal or superior to men.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

11. i am sure in some matriarchal cultures and some upper class women in patriarchal cultures

were fine, but most werent. hence i used the word "most"

[raccoon]

13. Iroquois Native Americans as well. nt

[MorningGlow]

17. Yes!

And now that I'm thinking about it, I believe I read somewhere that a NA tribe (oh gods don't ask me which one, but I think it was in the Plains) had a special respected status for homosexuals.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

18. a lot of them did. two-spritied people. however a few native american tribes vs rest of world

doesnt invalidate my point

[MorningGlow]

20. Well, it depends on how far back you go

A lot of damage has been done in the past 2,000 years in the name of the Catholic Church, for instance.

However, totting up every society/culture, from every age, from every country, present and past, is a pretty big job! And I'm too damned lazy to undertake something like that!

On edit: Yes! Two-spirited--that's what I was thinking of. Thank you!

[TZ]

15. and look at all the mysoginistic societies

They outnumbered those women orientated societies BIG TIME.
Middle East...Africa...South America..you name it, women were oppressed. Look at all the horrible things done to "protect" women from chastity belts to female circumcision.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. also most of europe.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

40. And African-Americans, many indigenous cultures around the world

And many immigrants who faced even greater discrimination and prejudice than they do today

[La Lioness Priyanka]

42. absolutely

[redqueen]

47. Yep.

That's exactly what I thought when I saw the subject line.

[LeftinOH]

14. If you got sick -you died; if you got injured -you didn't fully recover (usually)

...and thats just for starters.

[raccoon]

21. True. And now, same thing, if you don't have health insurance. nt

[jobycom]

26. everyone dies.

It's a question of when and how, not if. If you die at 40 from a foot infection, it doesn't mean you are less happy than if you die at 90 from heart failure. Much of the mythos of warrior cultures considered long life a curse, due to physical deterioration.

Loved ones died at a younger age, but they still died at the same percentage. 100% of the people born still died. People had to deal with grief then as now.

[surrealAmerican]

46. That's true, except for one important thing ...

You would have been far more likely to see some of your children die.

[bif]

23. I think we have more leisure time

And more distractions. But I don't think we're any happier.

[JVS]

24. I think people in the 1990's were happier than this decade.

We've had a lot of shit this decade.

[jobycom]

25. About the same, generally.

People adjust to their living conditions if they don't know of any other. If luxury means having a straw hut and a dirt floor and gruel every night, and you don't know of another way, you still find happiness where you can, just as people now living in mansions can be miserable. Material comforts aren't what makes a person happy. Happiness comes from how you accept your situation, and how you recover from tragedy and heartbreak, more than from what you have or what your conditions are. Six wasted hours on a PS3 don't make one happier than tilling a field with friends and family.

People in most eras create art and turn to religion. They marry, fall in love, grieve, eat, starve, strive to get ahead by whatever standards they measure success. They wish for better conditions while making the most of what they have. They battle depression, even if they call it something else. Some strive for material gain, some for power, some for spiritual or intellectual enlightenment, some for a good meal and a beer at the end of the day.

Of course wars and famines and disease could wreck that happiness, but those weren't constant. I mean, they were constantly going on, but not usually always in the same place all the time. Wars moved around, disease came and went. People encountered them in their lifetime, and some lives were swallowed by them, but people expected death in some form, and dealt with it the way we do now. They grieved, they moved on.

There's a misunderstanding about life spans in ancient times. We always hear that people lived shorter lives in the old days, and there's some truth to that, but the human life span was about the same then as now. If you were careful and lucky, you could live into your 80s or 90s. People were just more likely to die younger, due to disease and infections and such. People still hoped to live a long life, and many did. Many died young, so when we talk about a 40 year average life span, we are talking about an average, including people who died as children. If you lived to be 40, odds were decent you would live to be 50 or 60. The odds of living to be 40 were much lower than now. People didn't just say "I'm 40, I'm dead."

Sorry to ramble. My history degree rarely gets a workout, so when it gets the chance, it just runs free. :)

[MorningGlow]

27. Very nice.

:applause:

[skygazer]

29. Good point about the age thing

I have a lot of ancestors who lived into their 80's and 90's. People get the average life span confused with the possible life span.

[raccoon]

30. Great post.

"Material comforts aren't what makes a person happy."

True. I think Madison Avenue has done its best to convince us that material comforts are what makes a person happy. And I think for many, if not most of us in the First World, it's hard to get away from that idea.

[jobycom]

34. That's always been true.

Think of the Ten Commandments or the Seven Deadly Sins--they both deal with materialism. Gluttony, Greed, Envy. Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet your neighbor's house, wife, or donkey. Tombs in ancient Egypt are pantheons to material greed, down to the little trinkets and bits of jewelry. Sermons througout the Middle Ages complained about the younger generation's desire for wealth and material goods. Madison Avenue may warm themselves over that fire, but they didn't start it (apologies to Billy Joel :) ).

[skygazer]

28. I think people of previous decades, centuries etc. asked the same kind of question

And talked about the "good old days." And complained about "kids these days" and how manners had gone downhill and things just aren't as nice as they used to be.


I think it's human nature to look back and think that things were better because when you're living in the midst of things that are going on, you can't miss the bad stuff. However, you can filter that out of nostalgia.

I remember the 70's as a wonderful time full of great music, and fun and laughs because that's when I was a teenager. However, there was also a very nasty recession, high unemployment, a lack of a lot of the things that I enjoy now (like the Macbook I'm typing this on, cell phones, other forms of technology). There was actually more pollution then in some areas than there is now because people were only beginning to realize the effects of pollution. My mother died of breast cancer and my not have had she gotten it now. People didn't wear seatbelts. My parents used to let us ride on the roof rack of the station wagon, for crying out loud!

No better, no worse, I think. Just different.

[raccoon]

31. To some extent, I agree with that, but I think because of advertising and the way our economy is,

we're conditioned to want better, more, newer, everything.

[skygazer]

33. Does that make us happier? Less happy?

I don't really think so. Just different.

Besides, the idea of wanting the latest thing isn't new - my parents went through the same thing buying their first black and white TV. Then when everyone got color, we had to have a color TV. Keeping up with the Joneses, they called it. I suspect that when some prehistoric man flaked the first blade, all the other guys around wanted one of those puppies more than they'd ever wanted anything before.

Human nature - just manifests itself differently depending on the nature of the times and the modes of communication.

[surrealAmerican]

49. I think advertising is a big part of people's unhappiness...

... because it alters our expectations. If what you expect from life is unobtainable, you won't be happy.

[raccoon]

50. Yes, and advertising's purpose is to create dissatisfaction, to make you want

whatever it is they're selling.

[JitterbugPerfume]

32. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

and it still is!

[old mark]

35. I don't believe they were - most people 100 years ago had to

work 6 days a week, 12 hour or longer days. They had very little money, no security, few things to give them pleasure other than booze or drugs. Read about the 8 year old prostitutes in NYC in the 19th century, the terrible politics, racism,etc. I doubt there was a lot of happiness to be found.

Besides, they had no TV!


mark

[MorningGlow]

37. But 800 years ago people worked a lot less

It's been a long time since I studied medieval history, but IIRC, in medieval Europe they kept piling on the holy days a few at a time--meaning serfs didn't have to work in the fields on holy days--until there were only about 100 or so days where the serfs WERE working in the fields. Then they had to, you know, revisit the policy.
:rofl:

[mitchum]

36. No, pain is timeless

[AngryAmish]

38. There is some pretty good research that happiness is set genetically like weight

Some people have many things go wrong with their life and are pretty upbeat and happy with what they have.

Others can have everything and still be unhappy. Like Micheal Hutchence. Wait, he may have killed himself, but it seem he was VERY happy right before he died. So nevermind him.

Anyway, humans being humans, I think we are as happy as most of our ancestors. Fewer worrries but higher aspirations.

[KamaAina]

39. If ignorance is bliss, then yes.

:eyes:

[RagAss]

41. I was in 1977 in New Haven listening to this...That much I know !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7dh8qTDcAc&feature=related

[Iggo]

43. I think they walked around saying...

..."Man! This is a long time ago!"

(Thanks, Gilbert Gottfried.)